“Gunnar will be my hardest opponent so far,” Brock says. “He is a very experienced and tough fighter. But from a fighter’s perspective you want a decent challenge. It makes all of the training and everything else worth it.
“My preparation has been going well. I am feeling good and I am up to the challenge. We are friends outside of the ring but once that bell goes — for the next eight rounds we are opponents.”
Brock, 25, lives in Auckland with his partner and their young son and daughter.
He was born in Gisborne but grew up mostly in Hicks Bay/Te Araroa, with stints in Auckland and Gisborne.
When he was 15, top coach Henry Schuster scouted him from Auckland.
He moved to the big city in 2010 to study sports at Unitec and have a go at a professional boxing career.
His highlight so far was in April when he beat Ray Musson by a technical knockout to claim the New Zealand super-welterweight title.
Former New Zealand heavyweight boxer Shane Cameron, now in a promoting role, is guiding Brock’s career.
“Shay is in tremendous shape,” says Cameron, who grew up in Tiniroto. “Gunner Jackson is a very experienced professional fighter and it will be Shay’s first real test.
“If Shay wants to make it big, he will need to get through the likes of Jackson. If he does everything right, there is no reason he can’t win.”
Fight Night — Cameron’s ninth as a promoter — includes two corporate and 10 professional fights and will be broadcast on Sky Sports.
Making his professional debut will be 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist David Light, who faces heavyweight Lui Te’o.
